Canelo-Chavez: The Cinco De Mayo, That “Should’ve” Been

Cinco De Mayo is one of the biggest weekends in all of boxing. Going back to the rematch of Julio Cesar Chavez vs Frankie Randall on May 7, 1994 which was one the of the first big fight on that weekend. Top Rank then had Oscar De La Hoya fight on the weekend and Floyd Mayweather later on made it one of his two exclusive annual fight dates. Since the retirement of Mayweather, the date has been wide open and it looks as if Canelo Alvarez has offically taken the spot. Back in December fans speculated Canelo would fight Gennady Golovkin in a superfight this up coming Cinco De Mayo. Unfortunely, Canelo and his team decided to go in another direction. The unexpected but always been in the deck of cards of future Canelo opponents, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr was chosen.

In the early’s 2010’s this is the fight boxing fans knew would happen but, it would be about timing as both fighters were coming up in different weight classes. Many expected this to be the next great mexican fight. Chavez Jr, a superwelterweight who was steadily improving from a non-amateur background and carefully matched by Top Rank Promotions. Canelo on the other hand, was a welterweight who showed a lot of promise. Mexican fans have been wanting to see this fight for years and now that it’s finally here but, something just seems off. This weeks fight will be of a catch-weight of 164.5lbs and no titles will be on the line.

Even if some want to make it out as a grudge match, the fight should have more meaning and merit to it. Don’t get me wrong, the tickets are sold, the fight will sell it’s Pay-Per-View’s and both fighter’s are making a lot of money. What will a win for Canelo really add to his career? I think almost every boxing fan will argue the only fighter that can add to his resume is Gennady Golvkin. Will a win for Chavez Jr do anything for him? Chavez being the bigger man and beating a the smaller fighter Canelo won’t do much for his career.

I enjoy watching Chavez Jr fight but let’s be honest here, he has had a lackluster career due to his dedication to the sport. Even after he lost to former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez, I still felt the guy would come back and better himself. Since that fight in 2012, Chavez Jr has been down a downard spiral and interestingly hasn’t fought below 165lbs since then. The 2015 fight against Andrzej Fonfara was a real eye opener. Chavez looked the worse we ever seen him, took a beaten and asked out of the fight. Not to mention, Chavez has been through some good trainers like Robert Garcia, Freddie Roach and being trained by the legendary Nacho Beristain. Many ask the question, can Nacho actually motivate Chavez Jr and get something out of him unlike the others? Canelo on the other hand has lived up to his potential. Aside from his lone loss from Floyd Mayweather Jr, Canelo has been a two division weight champion with wins over Shane Mosley, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto and Amir Khan. He is boxing’s biggest star at the moment and is marketed beautifully through the mainstream.

What I expect out of this fight is for Canelo Alvarez to dominate and eventually stop Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. I don’t think the 164.5lbs catchweight will make much of a difference for Alvarez. It will be fun for the time being but, Canelo has just surpassed Chavez Jr as fighter and more importantly is in his prime. He’s gotten better throughout the years and still improving while, Chavez Jr in the skills department has just been stagnant and taking this fight for the check. The magnitude of this fight could have been much greater if, Chavez career panded out to what some thought it would be.